The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1887-12-02


/ born TO rule, was furious enough, nc
may be sure, at this opposition from
q girl hardly out of her teens. 1t is
said that on one occasion she shook
her slipper viciously at Alberta and
shrieked-"Girl you'll put me in my
gravel" And so the war waged-hard
pressed Alberta being forced to main
tain her line of battle against the
overwhelming allied forces OF all the
Ravenals.
This could not last always. She
must either surrender or beat a re-
treat-in other words, take Acton
and run. And this last she did-slip-
ping away with him in spite of them
all, and Tying to the arms Of Aunt
Dicey on the plantation away down
in the Southern interior, whence she
wrote q letter of defiance to the enc
my, stating that whoever came to
modest them would be 'Iocked outl''
Then it was, that wrathful old Miss
Alkaline, christened the place "Castle
Folly" and washed her hands forever
of the "fools" who were barricading
themselves there. But in the course
of a few months the old lady relented
and paid them a visit. As she had
notified Alberta beforehand that she
was not on the war-path any longer
and came with peaceable intent, the
moat and the drawbridge were found
not impossible; that is to say she was
not locked out. On the contrary, she
was received with open arms and
treated royalty. And regularly once
or twice a year after that, old Miss
Alkaline, cameo own to Castle Folly and
tried in vain to treason" with her
grandniece whom she secretly admir-.
ed for her decision of character and
devotion to her unfortunate brother.
Even as far back as before the war,
when she was only a tall, shy girl,
Alberta had had q Sweetheart" as
the people said on the island. Young
Herbert Lawrence belonged to the
city. and that society in which the
Ravenals wre shining lights. Alberta
thought he was the handsomest young
man she had ave seen and the bright
est, and of course she fell i'm love with
him. When he went into the war, got
Drowned and toughened in the service,
and came back to her toward the
close in all the glory of a~captain's reg
imentals, her love-dream was unut-
terably bissful; she gloried in him.
The obstacle holding them apart
was Acton. To Alberta's intense in.
dignation and dismay, Captain Law
renee sided with the Ravenals in this
matter; and, what added to the I'M
happiness of the situation, Actonlong
ago had conceived amortal antipathy
for the captain and always contrived
to make his visits to Alberta as un-
pleasant as possible. 1t vas just in
the midst of all this that Alberta,
without q word to her lover, took
Acton and made her famous retreat
to Castle Folly. Captain Lawrence
followed soon after to make her alast
appeal. His welcome was all ne could
have wished, except where Acton was
concerned.
But he was a man, an ard emit lover
and impatient; he forced Alberta to a
decision which wrung the hearts OF
both. "Why should she keep him
waiting?" he asked. She had kept
him waiting 8 long already. He want
ed her-he must have her. He plead.
ed his cause manRully, e~loquently, and
while he spoke only in this strain she
i WIS SWGSJ anu JEdEIuA anu YlCiAtllEs
But when he grew impatient and said
it was time for her to decide between
him and "that boy" she threw up
her head and was fearful aud yielding
no longer.
1t was no trifling lovers quarrel.
Captain Lawrence called upon her to
decide at once whether she was engaged
to him for life or to ''thatboy," where
upon Miss Alberta passionately de-
clared that she was mistress OF her
own hand and heart, and she would
neither marry nor love any man who
could be so brutal toward her poor
brother as to join the Ravenals in
their wicked, wicked design. AS for
Captain Lawrence, he had grown in
siderable in his selfish demands, and
she was done with him forever. TAX
ing her at her word, the captain turn
ed right about and marched out of the
house. But, ere he had mounted his
horse, impulsive Miss Alberta ran aft
er him down to the carriage gate.
Don't go away angry with me, Her
4 BERT" she said, with tears in her eyes.
II can't give Acton up-I must stay
here with him; but let us-don't let us
part angry at each other"
And then. as he turned round upon
her in his grief and anger, the captain
looked as if he thought her more
beausiful and charming than eve be-
fore. He said not a word, but with
almost asob, he seized her in his
arms and kissed her once, twice, thrice,
then he let her 60. and sprang upon
his horse, riding away like the wind.
and never looked back.
Alberta ran into the house-ran
blindly past Acton who stood on the
piazza, past sorrowful, observant old
Aunt Dicey In the hall, and threw her
self upon the sittingroom lounge,
where she sobbed q long time. Acton
came in and stood over her by and
by.
"Why, Aiberta?" he SAID. mis- tone
full Of rebuke. ssWould you CRY that